Education

School Board: Two candidates vie for three seats

REPORTER FILE PHOTOS | Only two candidates, Linda Eklund (left) and Elizabeth Melichar-Lechmanski, are running for three open school board seats. The third spot will probably be filled by a write-in candidate.

Only two candidates have filed petitions for three open School Board seats up for election on May 17. Board President Rebecca Mundy and member Ken Lewis Jr. will not run again and only one new candidate has come forward. That means a write-in candidate could fill the third spot on the board, school district officials confirmed this week.

Only two candidate petitions were received at the school by the Monday deadline, submitted by incumbent board member Linda Eklund and challenger Liz Melichar-Lechmanski.

There has never been an election when the number of open seats exceeded the number of candidates in Debbie Vecchio’s 11 years as the school’s district clerk, she said. During that same time, she added, a write-in candidate has never beaten someone on the ballot. Unless history is made by a write-in candidate, Ms. Eklund and Ms. Melichar-Lechmanski are sure to be reelected.

In order to become a board member, a write-in candidate can’t be an employee of the district. He or she must be 18 years old, a Shelter Island resident and a United States citizen.

If no write-in candidate emerges, the School Board is likely to appoint a new member at its July 1 reorganization meeting or soon after. The board will also elect a  new president when the successful candidates are sworn in at the board’s July 1 meeting.

Ms. Eklund saw the lack of candidates as a vote of confidence in the board: “I think that means that the people of this community are happy with what we’ve done. When people were unhappy, there were a lot of people who came out to run for those seats.” In 2008, when she was first elected to the board, there were 11 candidates vying for 5 open seats.

Rebecca Mundy, the outgoing president, told the Reporter, “I’ve been around here a long time and I don’t remember this ever happening either.” Ms. Mundy was elected in 2008. Of the lack of applicants, she said, “I’m saddened by it all, I’ve got myself in a knot over it.”

She said she had “put it out there in many circles” that she wasn’t running again and she had expected there would be more interest from community members in running .

Both Ms. Mundy and Mr. Lewis cited family obligations as the main reason for their departure. Ms. Mundy explained that she wanted to be available to take her two children, who are in high school, on college visits, and have plenty of time to spend with her family before her son, Michael, deploys with the Marines to Afghanistan in the fall. She commented, “When we get to that meeting when we announce the [new] superintendent and get past this terrible little spot where we’re all hurting right now with these staffing changes, I think the school will be on a good direction and do just fine without me.” Ms. Mundy was referring to the reduction in hours of three teachers and the elimination of the librarian’s position.

Mr. Lewis said her decision not to run again had been a difficult one. “It’s a significant amount of time and for me right now it’s time I need to dedicate to my family, first and foremost, and also to my job. It’s truly been a pleasure to serve the community and the district. Hopefully there will be a day that I can throw my hat back into the ring.”

Ms. Eklund is running again, she said, because she thinks “there’s still a lot to be done. This current board has done a great deal to bring the building into compliance and also put the property on a schedule of repairs and maintenance so that we are not faced again with these massive amounts of repair work … I think that moving the school from the concepts or mindsets of how things are run in the ‘80s and ‘90s and moving this school to current day and beyond, that’s what I’d like to be a party to. I think we have laid the groundwork, I just want to see that done.”

Ms. Melichar-Lechmanski said she wanted to join the board because she “believes in what this school has to offer and all of its potential. I’d like to be a part of that, I think I have a lot to bring to the table. This has been an interest of mine for several years and now I am taking the opportunity to pursue it.” Ms. Melichar-Lechmanski works as a central administrator for Eastern Suffolk BOCES and has been a teacher and administrator for decades, she says.

School voter registration day is May 4 from 2 to 8 p.m. in the school library. The vote will be on May 17 from 12 to 9 p.m. in the gym. An absentee ballot application is available on the school website at shelterisland.k12.ny.us under the “Board of Education” tab.